The effects of urban water cycle on energy consumption in Beijing, China

doi:10.1007/s11442-019-1639-5

Abstract

Abstract:

Energy is consumed at every stage of the cycle of water production, distribution, end use, and recycled water treatment. Understanding the nexus of energy and water may help to minimize energy and water consumption and reduce environmental emissions. However, the interlinkages between water and energy have not received adequate attention. To address this gap, this paper disaggregates and quantifies the energy consumption of the entire water cycle process in Beijing. The results of this study show that total energy consumption by water production, treatment and distribution, end use, and recycled water reuse amounts to 55.6 billion kWh of electricity in 2015, or about 33% of the total urban energy usage. While water supply amount increased by only 10% from 2005 to 2015, the related energy consumption increased by 215% due to water supply structural change. The Beijing municipal government plans to implement many water saving measures in the area from 2016 to 2020, however, these policies will increase energy consumption by 74 million kWh in Beijing. This study responds to the urgent need for research on the synergies between energy and water. In order to achieve the goal of low-energy water utilization in the future, water and energy should be integrated in planning and management.

Key words: water-energy nexus, integrated planning, water supply, energy consumption, Beijing

Guohua HE, Yong ZHAO, Jianhua WANG, Yongnan ZHU, Shan JIANG, Haihong LI, Qingming WANG. The effects of urban water cycle on energy consumption in Beijing, China[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2019, 29(6): 959-970.

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Item		Value	Data sources
Water supply amount	Water supply amount of different sources (10⁸ m3)	—	CWSY (2016)
Pumping lift	Groundwater pump (m)	—	CGMY (2015)
Pumping lift	Surface water lift (m)	—	CIAD Centre (2009)
Parameters and energy quota	Efficiency of electrical motors (%)	40	Shah et al. (2009) Karimi et al. (2012)
	Efficiency of diesel motors (%)	15	Shah et al. (2009) Karimi et al. (2012)
	Water lost rate in water supply network (%)	15	Beijing 13th Five-year Water- saving Plan (2016)
	Fresh water treatment (kWh/m3)	0.374	CUWSD (2015a)
	Fresh water distribution (kWh/m3)	0.441	CUWSD (2015b)
	Wastewater collection (kWh/m3)	0.2	Gao (2012)
	Wastewater treatment (kWh/m3)	0.33	CUWSD (2015b)
	Recycled water treatment (kWh/m3)	0.84	CUWSD (2015b)
	Energy intensity for bathing (kWh/m3)	31.5	Zhu (2017)
	Energy intensity for cooking water use (kWh/m3)	99.2	Zhu (2017)
	Energy intensity for hot water drinking (kWh/m3)	99.2	Zhu (2017)
	Energy intensity for washing machine (kWh/m3)	7.5	Plappally and Leinhard (2012)
	Energy intensity for office water use (kWh/m3)	6.6	Arpke and Hutzler (2006)
	Energy intensity for school water use (kWh/m3)	5.7	Arpke and Hutzler (2006)
	Energy intensity for hotel water use (kWh/m3)	22	Arpke and Hutzler (2006)
	Energy intensity for restaurant water use (kWh/m3)	69	Turiel et al. (1987) Arpke and Hutzler (2006)
	Energy intensity for hospital water use (kWh/m3)	58	Turiel et al. (1987) Arpke and Hutzler (2006)

Water cycle	Option	Unit	Current value	Plan value in 2020
Water production	Reduce groundwater exploitation by increasing the use of inter-basin transfer water	10⁴ m3	0	26000
Treatment and distribution	Reduce leakage rate of urban water supply network	%	15	10
End use	Improve industrial water recycling rate	%	89.7	91.4
End use	Improve the utilization efficiency of irrigation water in farmland	%	0.705	0.75
Recycled water treatment	Reduce groundwater exploitation by increasing the use of recycled water	10⁴ m3	0	15100

Author and region	Water-sector processes	Estimated energy intensity (kWh/m3)	Beijing water sector processes	Estimated energy intensity (kWh/m3)
Cohen et al. San Diego, USA	Supply and treatment	0.06-3.4	Water production (Surface water, ground-water and inter-basin transfer water)	0.25
	Residential end use	0-22	Fresh water treatment	0.374
	Wastewater treatment	0.11-0.79	Fresh water distribution	0.441
Klein California, USA	Water supply/conveyance	0-3.69	Wastewater collection	0.2
	Water treatment	0.03-4.23	Wastewater treatment	0.33
	Water distribution	0.2-0.32	Recycled water treatment	0.84
	Wastewater collection and treatment	0.29-1.22	Domestic water use	28.9
	Recycled water treatment and distribution	0.11-0.32	Public domestic use	18.9
Goldstein and Smith, USA	Surface-water treatment	0.371-0.392	Industry	15.8
	Wastewater treatment	0.177-0.780
Griffiths, USA	Heating of residential water	32